Rapid method for the simultaneous determination of 1,4-dioxan and its major metabolite, beta-hydroxyethoxyacetic acid, concentrations in plasma and urine.

1,4-Dioxan and its principle metabolite, beta-hydroxyethoxyacetic acid (HEAA), are determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on a 3% OV-17 column using selected ion monitoring, following the methylation of HEAA directly in plasma or urine without extraction. The recoveries of dioxan from plasma and urine are 98 and 94%, respectively, and the recoveries of HEAA from plasma and urine are 86 and 94%, respectively. The detection limits of 1,4-dioxan in plasma and urine are 0.07 ppm, and the detection limits of HEAA in plasma and urine are 0.5 and 0.1 ppm, respectively. Separate simultaneous measurements of 1,4-dioxan and HEAA methyl ester concentrations in urine and plasma are obtained after the methylation via GC-MS without additional preparation of the samples.